They're buying what they need and one of the items is toilet paper. People are scared, and they're bunkering down. Things like canned goods and other non-perishable foods are also selling well.

All sorts of items are sold out, like face masks and hand sanitiser. People aren't only stockpiling toilet paper. So I think this is just a preparation process, because we have seen that toilet paper has become a shortage item elsewhere.ДЄlex Russell, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University: I don't know for certain but I suspect that most people only buy toilet paper when they just about run out, which could be a problem if you need to stay isolated for two weeks. It is completely non-perishable and one of the few products that you can stock up on that you are guaranteed to use eventually. I guess IвЂ™m going to sell some tonight thenвЂ“thatвЂ™s fantastic.Toilet paper and tissues are sold out in a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan.Дavid Savage, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle: Some are going for hundreds of dollars, and as of this moment, someoneвЂ™s just put up one roll for a thousand dollars tooвЂ“but probably as a joke. Have you heard about toilet paper going for crazy prices on eBay and Gumtree? I follow a ton of sports, so IвЂ™m actually more worried about sports getting cancelled over it. Honestly, I could not be less concerned about it. IвЂ™m just waiting for flight tickets to go down even more, so I can go traveling. How worried are you about the virus in general? ItвЂ™ll just be like a cold for us, really. We know the mortality rate is pretty low, so it canвЂ™t really kill us. A lot of us work in health fields, so weвЂ™re pretty up to date on the situation. I just donвЂ™t get the whole toilet paper thing.Дo you have any friends who are overreacting to the virus? But look, if I was to stockpile anything, itвЂ™d be food, baby food, water, and medicine. On that note, do you think people should be stockpiling anything at all?ДЄbsolutely not. I think IвЂ™m more concerned that diapers will go out of stock in the future. Maybe if I was pregnant, IвЂ™d be more worried. IвЂ™m not very worried about that at all at the moment, maybe more so for this little one here. How worried are you that the virus is going to get out of control? Not that I know of-but I could probably think of one or two people that might be stockpiling in secret. I think the news has got everyone so scared of this coronavirus and now theyвЂ™re just doing silly things like with this toilet paper episode.ДЄre any of your friends panic-buying toilet paper? What do you think was the main thing that sparked this panic?Дefinitely the news for sure. IвЂ™m buying mine here just because weвЂ™ve actually just run out. ItвЂ™s some type of group panic thing thatвЂ™s going on. TheyвЂ™re scared they canвЂ™t leave their house and theyвЂ™ll run out. VICE: Hi Ashley, why do you think Australians are buying toilet paper of all things?ДЄshley: I think theyвЂ™re just scared. I might go get that giant bottle of pretzels actually, IвЂ™ll be right back. I mean, we're also getting a ton of Costco danishes. ThereвЂ™s a bunch of food in your cartвЂ“are you stockpiling any, or are you just hungry?ДЄre you guys getting anything else besides toilet paper? We're picking this all up now so we never have to come back to this hellhole. I'm here with my two other matesвЂ“oneвЂ™s pushing the cart next to me, the other oneвЂ™s still picking up more food. Also, Costco has a 1 pack per person rule nowвЂ“at this store at least. I'm literally out of toilet paper at home. What, does everyone have chronic diarrhea all of a sudden?Д«ut you've also got three packs of toilet paper there. There's no way people are using toilet paper that fast. I feel like it's a lot of unnecessary panic and just the general fear of missing out. VICE: Hey Danny, w hy are you buying all this toilet paper?Дo you think the toilet paper crisis is a herd mentality thing?ДЎ00 percent.

Toilet paper stockpile